Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The Journeys: Part deux

Day one had me reporting to office. As I was not familiar with the parking situation, I decided to take the bike. Now I'll be the first one to tell you that I don't particularly like 2 wheels! I know, the girls find it macho n sexy, but some things are just not meant to be. Period! Dad offered to drive me half way after which I would ride the rest of the distance and pick him up on the way back. Since he would be driving the traffic laden half, I mustered enough courage to take the 2 wheeled bike the rest of the way.

Now, for those who are not familiar with the Indian traffic conditions, should see this sped up video of a traffic intersection. The traffic situation in Bombay is about half as bad... couple this with the no-so-friendly-bike and my disdain of 2-wheelers, its not the best mix.

The drive started well and I was doing great. Then I had to brake and all hell broke loose.

As soon as I hit the brakes, the 2-wheeler engine turned off. I managed to turn it back on and was on my way again and I had to brake once more... this was not going well!

After stalling it 3 more times, I called dad who proudly exclaimed "the idling of the engine is set low to conserve fuel at traffic lights ***. Just give it some gas while braking and u should be fine."
Me: (thinking) Give it gas while braking? That would get me killed????

*** (we live in a city and traffic lights are a-plenty)

I parked the 2-wheeler in the nearest by-lane, proudly shamelessly hopped into a running double decker bus and was on my merry way :P City biking is not for me! At least not now! (for the curious cats, the 2-wheeler in question was a Honda Activa. Its a moped! not even geared.... I too know its pathetic!) :D

In my defense, I did take ride the cursed thing to visit an uncle after work and also picked up my dad on my way back.

And then it rained! Continuously for 24 hours! Sometimes heavy, sometimes a light drizzle..
.
perfect time to grab hot vadas with red-chilly-garlic-chutney! No sooner did I mouth
the words to my sis, mom interjected "I've already made them!" I kid you not, she can read minds!

Me: (while hogging on tasty hot vadas [an Indian delicacy savoured during the rains]) Mom, stop making all this oily food... you are making me fat. I had a 6-pack and its disappearing...
Mom: I don't like 6-packs. Shah Rukh (an Indian actor) got one and it made him look old. His cheeks are sunk in his face and his skin has become all flabby.
Me: (cannot argue with that logic!)


57 comments:

Meghana Naidu said...

you couldnt handle a activa!

sheesh!
i drive down killer traffic(bangalore) for almost more than 25 kms a day
*smug*

sujata sengupta said...

Good old mumbai and good old traffic.. the piping hot tea after the vadas is a treat in the rains!! Btw I just didnt get the humour in your answer to my comment on your last post.am really D-U-H!

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Meghana,
Yea yea... rub it in. Pity ur not in Bombay, would have asked u for a lift!

Any takers?

Hi Sujata,
The food and the rains are great! Hot tea is such a delight on a cold damp rainy day :D
Humor? Me? ha ha ha.... good one.

Vyzz said...

ur in bombay hehe

Shayari said...

Hot pakodas coupled with rains..mmm nothing like it:P
Blore's still cloudy n dry :(

Vee said...

Welcome to the Jungle, i.e. Traffic here..

Btw, SRK did look ugly in his 6 packs. Not that, he was good looking earlier, but at least presentable. And I christened him Lizard after that Dard-e-Disco thingy...

eye-in-sty-in said...

Yep Vyomah!

Hi Shayari,
true true! B'lore cloudy n dry? hmmmmm Atleast its cloudy, so theres hope for rains...

Hi Vee,
TY. ROTFL @ lizard! Now i know why he looked famaliar! ha ha ha! That was too funny dude!

Bhargavi said...

i cant comment on anything else.. yummm !!!! vada paav rooockkkkss!!

Ripples said...

I misssssss Vada pav the Pune ones :P...But i am so sure you are enjoying the awesome rains, getting drenched....Amazing expi istnt it?

Anupama said...

So you've got idling blues too :) ...everytime I get the bike serviced they set it to low without even asking/informing me! And then I suffer much like you did...riding those gearless bikes is such an adventure :D

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on making it through the traffic on a two wheeler!

And you're right, that kindof logic is hard to argue with :P

Anonymous said...

Now had you driven a bike the whole distance, you would have got yourself amazing forearms in your left hand ( like SRK). Tats because, traffic signals are plenty & clutches are mostly on the left side ;)

Cheers :)

Ire said...

Ok I am one of them who don't like two wheelers. My bf has instructions never to get one if we are going to travel together!

Hot vadas and Chai is simply awesome and I love SRK!

Varun said...

Dude! Your dad gave you the best weapon to counter Indian traffic and you failed to use it!

Use the kick start instead of the automatic one whenever your bike stops... You'll get those six packs back without any effort :)

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi B,
lol....good 2 see a vadapav drooler :P

Hi Ripples,
Yes, its awesome! And the funny thing is, I don't get tired of getting drenched....! Love it :P

Hi Anu,
Glad I have someone who suffers the same problems as me! See people, I'm not alone! Its the mechanics :D

Hi FD,
TY. I think I deserve it :P

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Witsnnuts,
Dude, its gearless! (u have my permission to laugh)

Hi Nikki,
You are smart! 4 wheels are always better. 2 for u, 2 for him!
SRK with 6-pack = lizard :P
(I didn't say it)

Hi Varun,
Giving me a 2 wheeler is like giving a monkey a sword to kill a fly thats sitting on ur nose! The result is not what u may desire :P

When you have a 10 ton BEST bus honking up ur a$$, you don't think of getting off the bike for doing anything! You just push the bike out of the way :D

Shanu said...

Man I hate bikes...havent had the gr8st experiences with them!

eye-in-sty-in said...

Really!? Can we know what is it?

Shanu said...

You will have to wait for a blogpost on that! Wah kya random places main I get bloggin ideas!

lynn said...

wild wild traffic, almost unbelieveable but seeing is believing...good post too, food looks yummy.

vimmuuu said...

That was an activa; and I thought riding that was as simple as riding a cycle !!!

ROFL at your moms dialogue !! Its so true ! SRK has a face full of dimples these days !

couchpapaya said...

u lucky, lucky guy!! once i saw the vada-pav everything else on the page blurred, so cant comment! will just say six-packs aate jaate hain, so eat well :D did u pick up any dram or just looked at it ?

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Shanu,
Thats great... do send me my royalty check if the post is a hit :D

Hi Lynn,
TY. You should try it sometime. Its as yummy as it looks :-)

Hi Vimmuuu,
It is. Except the cycle does not stall! Mom has her share of oe liners.

Hi CP,
I know how we crave good old Indian food! I am eating well, perhaps a little too well. And I just could look @ the Dram longingly! Thats about it :P

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't like guys in 2 wheelers either. They try to show off sometimes. Bah! But what caught my eye was the vadas in garlic chutney [YUM!]

And your Mother is right! I hate SRK for doing that. He almost took up a skeleton form for being too sexy.

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Anamika,
I can tell that ur a foodie too :P Thats great. Wonder why with all his resources, he could not have got the 6 pack in a more healthier way!
Vadas rock! :D

Aparna said...

Vada Pav rocks and so does SRK, stop calling him names.
Did you wear a helmet?

Anonymous said...

6 pack on a moped ?
It happens only in Mumbai.
Enjoy the high tide.

Ripples said...

You have an award
http://verbalfiend.wordpress.com/

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Aparna,
Yes, I did. Its mandatory, wearing a helmet! And if someone looks like a lizard, they are bound to be called one :P
Lizard with 6-packs (I didnt name him that)

Hi UH,
lol... the tide is still at bay .. atleast for now.

Hi Ripples,
Thanks. will check it out.

Dhanya said...

Your mom's right all the way! SRK looks like crap after he got his six packs... (I hope his fans dont beat me up for this)...

hot vadas with red-chilly-garlic-chutney! YUMMY! :D

eye-in-sty-in said...

lol... thanks Dhanya. She was a fan.... now no more a fan :P

Angel's Flight said...

Woooooow Vvada Pav!! u lucky lucky guy!

Smita said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Smita said...

What happened to swift?

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Angel,
ha ha... kuch to fayda hona chaiye.... :P Baarish mein vada-pav with garlic chutney khane ka alag hi mazaa hota hai :P

Hi Smita,
Did u comment bcoz I commented on ur blog? If that ws the case, then it was v.bad :D

Smita said...

Lo! You do it again. I commented because you commented. Tccchh! Tccchh! Colorful opinion you've of me. Darn! Why don't i stick to my decisions.

eye-in-sty-in said...

aur nahi toh kya... this post is now 2 days old and we all know how active u are (look how fast u responded to this comment).... so its apparent.

eye-in-sty-in said...

any ways, to each their own :-)
thanks for reading n commenting

Smita said...

Sigh! If i had to do tit for tat would have commented in your last post too remember you commented in my book review too?I had never imagined that a day will come when i will have to explain why i commented. Ghor kalyug...Just fyi am no more as active as you imagine me to be.

Smita said...

Ya! Each to its own indeed. Thanks for the so very warm welcome. I guess time for me to go back to my original & sensible decision.

ekta khetan said...

Hey i too love vada pav!!!

And SRK with his 6 pack is such a squib, a damp one...

ekta khetan said...

BTW you have been tagged!!

Lets see how you respond....

http://ektakhetan.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-am-four-tagged-animal.html

PurpleHeart said...

Right on the 1st day of work !! Looks like a great start ! :) And you had me drooling over the thought of vadas n red hot chutney....So you back to India ?

Lynn said...

okay real quick i want to tell you that i am sorry i posted the same video you hyperlinked to yesterday re the crazy india traffic. i had forgotten where i got that from until recently. also i want to say i have linked to your site in that post now. one more thing, i am having lots of trouble accessing your site from wordpress. appreanttly there is some conflict, i immediately keep getting booted out of your site. this happpens a lot. jsut thoguht you should know.

ekta khetan said...

Oh I had a vada pav today! Man it wasn't as i it meant to be but still it was soooo delicious!! Yum...loves the vada pav

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Smita,
Not as active? Doesnt sound like you... all ok?

Hi Ekta,
lolz... totally with u on the SRK thingy :P Will check out the tag soon. Will need some time to breath from the weekend! :D

Hi PH,
I dont believe in wasting time for good tasty eatables :-) Yep, back in India since a week now. Did you have the wadas yet? ;-) They r quite easy to make.

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Lynn,
Thanks for letting me know. I have had problems while using Internet Explorer. Seems like the version 8 has some issues The blog runs great in Google Chrome browser and in Firefox! Also, I have seen wordpress getting more hits than blogger. Maybe I should migrate?

Hi Ekta,
You still have not uploaded a good snap that I can decorate with my artistry! Vada-pav is simply awesome! SO simple and yet so tasty! How was it different than the usual fare?

SAHITYIKA said...

moms always knw ..wht do u want..
so enjoyed those bada with chataney..
by d way.. learn to drive tht 2 wheeler.. tht is the easiest thing to learn.. :P

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Sahityika,
ur right! moms r the best :-)
N I know how to drive the 2wheeler.. lol on the 2 wheeler thing :P

ekta khetan said...

Hey you know what i really wish if someone sketches me and not "moustache" me...lolz :)

Anonymous said...

hey spike! wtf? i keep risking getting booted off to come see what you have to say and you know what i get? UGATZ!*

aren't you posting anymore? Or are you moving to wordpress? yes seems i get about 500 or so hits a day. my best day has been 811 so far if that means anythihg at all to you. thanks also for the info on changing to chrome or firefox. been contemplating changing to firefox. i'll let you know. hits...i'm

*"An Italian-American slang from the Italian "u casso" meaning balls, nothing, cock, dick."

Aparna said...

What happened? Padhna likhna chchod diya kya?

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Ekta,
Just wait a few n u'll be sketched :P

Hi Lynn,
Been cut off from the world (Is it safe to use the word "cut-off" when someone mentions UGATZ in the same conversation???) Will post soon.

Hi Aparna,
Had been away from civilization.. had to drive 5 Miles (8 kms) to get cell phone service :D New post soon.... and will also read all latest postings....

Ann Dee said...

1. I'm not commenting coz you commented [tht lousy line you dropped didn't deserve a comment-back]

2. Didn't notice the "part duex" and thought I'd drop & say kuch blog-shlog karo

3. You shouldn't have put that vada pao pic. You might get a stomach ache tonight. Bad one. :P

eye-in-sty-in said...

aha! so u like vada-pav too... there r lots in bombay... do stop by for a vada-pav treat! I was away on a trip and didnt have internet there. Err... what lousy line??

Ann Dee said...

If you wnt to dodge that impending ache send me your address so that D, B and me can come over in the eve for a vada-pao treat. ;)

PS: Lousy line=One of those you write fr the heck of it.

eye-in-sty-in said...

You think I'm bluffing and will pass a change to meet Booms? Drop me an email when u guys r in town and i'll be glad to treat you!

I know what a 'lousy line" is. I was asking where did I write one? Do refresh me memory if u remember it.